Bounty (Skyrim)
s that are posted in the holds of Skyrim.]] Bounty is a law enforcement game mechanic in . Bounty tracks the number and severity of crimes committed. From there, the offense is converted to a amount. Comparison with previous releases Separation by hold Unlike , where bounty was tracked and upheld across the cities of Cyrodiil, bounty in Skyrim is kept separate by Hold. For instance, when a crime is committed in Falkreath Hold, this does not necessarily translate to a Winterhold arrest based on the Falkreath Bounty. Evading bounty Traditionally, three options for resolving a bounty exist across games: paying the bounty off in gold, resisting arrest, or serving in prison. Skyrim introduces two more options: evading bounty by flaunting a title. Jarls of Skyrim can grant the title of Thane to citizens, which allows the individual's menial crimes to be overlooked. Crimes such as murder or assault may not be overlooked, however it should be noted that evasion of a bounty via Thanehood can only be used once per hold. The fifth and last option for the Dragonborn, assuming they are part of the Thieves Guild, is to pay more septims (bribing the guard) but retain stolen goods in your inventory. It is also possible, if one's Speech is sufficient, to simply talk the guard out of apprehending the player. Stolen items As with other releases, all stolen items are removed when bounties are resolved. Dealing with a bounty When any bounty is accumulated, guards in Holds or cities intercept the offender with law enforcement intentions, forcing them to halt and engage in dialogue. Four options exist for resolving the bounty (five for Thieves Guild members). General overview These are the following bounties that can be acquired. The specific values may vary, depending on the crime and the severity of said crime. Generally speaking, the said bounty is not received if no one witnesses the Dragonborn committing it. However, if a bounty is acquired, killing all witnesses before they can report it will effectively remove the bounty. The crime bounty ratio is as follows: The more severe the crime, or the more crimes one has committed (even those with a low value), the higher the bounty. The higher the bounty, the longer the prison sentence. The longer the sentence, the more skills that will be affected. *'Theft:' Half of the stolen item's value† *'Trespassing:' 5 *'Disturbing the Jarl's peace:' 10 *'Pickpocketing:' 25 *'Assault:' 40 ‡ (hand-to-hand brawls and fights in which the player provokes a victim are excluded) *'Horse Theft:' 50 each time the horse is mounted *'Escaping Jail:' 100 *'Forging a Business Ledger:' 100 ** Forging the Dragonsreach Prison Registry Ledger: 250 *'Murder:' 1,000 (self-defense excluded unless the attacker is a guard) *'Transforming into a Werewolf or Vampire Lord:' 1,000 (this includes reverting to your original form if you weren't seen transforming earlier) *† The bounty for theft is half of the stolen item's value. This means that if an item that's worth only 1 is stolen, the bounty will be 0 , but it must still be "paid" through conversation with the Guard. Paying the "0" bounty will also cause the guard to seize the stolen item(s). *‡ Feeding on people as a Vampire, Werewolf or with Namira's Ring will also count as assault. Paying the fine If is paid, the guards leave and is automatically subtracted from the inventory. Should arrest be resisted, all guards in the immediate area, which even includes some bystanders and citizens, draw weapons and attempt to slay the criminal—only upon the criminal's escape or demise do they relent. During combat, the criminal can choose to make the guard "yield" their attacks by sheathing their weapon(s) and thus initiating dialogue. This brings the criminal back to the conversation menu, in which they can elect to pay off the bounty or serve jail time. If the criminal's bounty is high enough, Jarls employ Bounty Collectors who have an enforcement warrant to pursue and apprehend criminals or terminate non-complying law evaders. Unlike guards of each city, who are limited to their specific jurisdiction, bounty collectors can appear in any hold or other location, randomly. Serving jail time Criminals can alternatively choose to spend time in jail for accumulated bounty. When selecting this option, the criminal is stripped of all items, weapons, and armor and placed in a cell. To wait the duration of the sentence, sleep in the bed. Upon release, all items are returned. If the criminal chooses to escape, bounty is removed, but their items must be manually obtained from an evidence locker somewhere in the prison. If caught, they will receive a new bounty. It should also be noted that serving prison time causes certain skills to decrease in level. Petty crimes If the Dragonborn steals a low value object then some of the lower class may send Hired Thugs after them. For lower level characters they may be tough opponents. Special circumstances Holding the title of Thane Upon becoming Thane of a Hold, minor bounties can be expiated simply by stating one's title as Thane. Offenses exceeding 1,000 though, will be upheld and cannot be excused using this method. Unless the hold has been captured during the civil war and the new Jarl happens to promote the Dragonborn as Thane again, this only works once per hold. Markarth In Markarth, citizens are sent to Cidhna Mine to pay off bounties. The sentence is served by mining ore or the character can elect to escape. Being imprisoned in the mine is part of the quest "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine." Thieves Guild After completing Special jobs for the Thieves Guild in Riften, criminals gain the option of bribing guards to allow them to keep stolen items. Bribery The "Bribery" perk in the Speech skill tree allows criminals to persuade guards out of arresting or fining them. This method does not remove the entire bounty, but the guard who attempted to collect on the bounty ignores it. The remaining guards who were non-witnesses may still respond to the bounty. Persuasion An option to persuade a guard to grant the Dragonborn clemency may sometimes appear, provided that they have a sufficiently low bounty level. Input phrases include, "Any chance I could talk you into overlooking this?," "You're making a mistake...," and "I don't have time for this. Do you?" Success is partially determined by speech level. If done correctly, one's speech will gain experience, but this will not clear a bounty. Should the Dragonborn have a speech level of at least 75, this option is always available as long as they are not trespassing anywhere, the bounty is relatively minor, and no guard has been previously persuaded to forget the bounty. To have it reappear and persuade the same guard, wait two days and it can be attempted again. Alternatively, one can resist arrest when a certain guard intercepts them and then surrender to a different character. Pacify In the Illusion school of Magicka, a spell called Pacify calms hostile targets. Coupled with the "Kindred Mage" perk from the same skill tree, the spell has the potential of calming guards, when a criminal acquires a bounty, causing them to forget the bounty temporarily and walk away. This option allows criminals to run or Fast Travel to a safer location. Silencing witnesses If in a remote or enclosed location, murdering witnesses to a theft, murder, or another crime annuls the bounty one acquires automatically for committing the crime. Alternatively, if no one witnesses the crime and the criminal is properly "stealthed" while committing it, a bounty may not even be acquired. It is worth remembering that animals also count as witnesses, so these must be slain to exonerate the criminal of all pending charges. Taking a Hold During the Civil War, whenever a hold is taken by the Imperial Legion or Stormcloaks, a criminal's bounty is reset. Stolen items Storing stolen items in chests and containers or simply dropping may remove the bounty altogether. This is especially useful when items are accidentally picked up in shops or guild headquarters. The owner of the item that witnesses the theft may simply take the item you picked up. In this case, you might not receive bounty. Achievements |trophy = }} Bugs *Individuals launched off cliffs by the Unrelenting Force shout do not accrue a bounty for murder even if the target dies upon impact. However, the Dragonborn will still receive a crime record for assault. *Bounties can be accrued even if witnesses are absent. Sometimes chickens, dogs, and other wild animals can be witnesses to a crime as they are considered entities. *Guards may attack criminals without giving them the option to pay their bounty or yield. *Guards will sometimes attack criminals even if the crime was "invisible" (i.e., no bounty was placed). They will not give the option of surrendering. *Sometimes, only a few guards will attack, while the rest go about their normal business. * Guards may still attack you after you paid of your bounty, and don't give the option of yielding. * Sometimes, the player may have a non-existent bounty to pay in a hold that the player has never entered or even discovered. No known reason for this. * During the quest "Contract: Kill Beitild," the Dragonborn may be attacked almost immediately by all the guards in Dawnstar even when the player has no bounty whatsoever. No known reason for this. * Sometimes, intervening in a random encounter against hostiles, like the Forsworn against Legion soldiers, will incur a bounty in the Hold that the encounter appeared in. Appearances * * * * de:Verbrechen Category:Skyrim: Gameplay Category:Laws